In order to beat the Ducks this series, the Preds had to win at least one game in Anaheim.

So, mission accomplished.

The Preds did the business on Friday night, beating the Ducks 3-2 in Game 1 of their opening round playoff series at the Honda Center.

Filip Forsberg scored the game-winner at 10:25 of the third period and Pekka Rinne stopped 27 of 29 shots for Nashville, who rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat the reigning Pacific Division champions in their own barn.

For the Preds, as mentioned above, it’s a big result. Aside from wrestling away home ice, they matched the Ducks in nearly every department — except in the faceoff circle, where Anaheim went 61 percent — and will now go back to Bridgestone no worse than tied 1-1 in the series.

For the Ducks… well, it’s not a terrific start, to say the least. They got out-shot at home, only putting 17 on goal over the final two periods after firing 12 on Rinne in the opening frame.

Anaheim is also now facing a very important Game 2 on Sunday night, as there’s no way the Ducks want to go to Nashville down 0-2 in the series.

The hit that knocked Anaheim defenseman Josh Manson out of Friday night’s tilt will sideline him for the remainder of the contest.

Manson, caught by a high check from Nashville’s Filip Forsberg during Game 1 of the Ducks-Preds series, was ruled out during the second intermission, per ESPN.

It’s a significant loss for the Ducks, who are already without Kevin Bieksa on the blueline. Manson had a solid regular season for the Ducks, appearing in 71 games while averaging nearly 19 minutes a night. The son of ex-NHLer Dave Manson finished the year with five goals and 15 points.

And Hitchcock, to his credit, responded like you’d expect a seasoned bench boss to respond.

“We’re upset, but we can’t let it get in the way of what we’re going to have to do,” Hitchcock said after Vladimir Tarasenko‘s would-be goal was wiped out after Joel Quenneville’s successful coach’s challenge, paving the way for a 3-2 Chicago win. “Calls aren’t going to go your way, you’re not going to get the officiating you want.

“It’s going to seem like it’s one-sided.”

Quenneville’s successful challenge — easily the biggest in a brief Stanley Cup playoff history — turned the game on its head. Jori Lehtera was correctly deemed to have entered the attacking zone offside prior to Tarasenko scoring, but that play itself wasn’t the only story.

There was the aftermath.

A visibly frustrated Tarasenko took a slashing penalty after the challenge, which in turn led to Andrew Shaw‘s power-play goal.

Which, in turn, led to another challenge.

Hitchcock alleged Shaw interfered with Brian Elliott on the play, and officials were forced to go back to the monitor. This time, though, there would be no overturning — Shaw’s goal held up, sending the Scottrade crowd into a chorus of boos.

Under normal circumstances, Friday’s game would be seen as a potential momentum swinger.

But in the case of St. Louis, it could be seen as much more — this is a club that, for the last three years, has faced major hurdles getting out of Round 1. After an emotional 1-0 OT win in the series opener, things looked to be going the Blues’ way… only for Friday night to happen.

Hitchcock, it seemed, was well aware of this being a potential turning point.

But he sounded determined not to let it be.

“When you play the defending Cup champions, you’re going to have to fight through a lot of stuff,” he said. “That’s the way it is.”

Lost in all the controversy was the fact that, oh yeah, this was a pretty good hockey game. After a thrilling Game 1 in which David Backes broke a scoreless tie with his OT winner, the ‘Hawks and Blues got right back at it on Friday, though the two teams did wait until the second period to score an actual regulation goal.

Tarasenko opened at the 15:20 mark, only for Duncan Keith — playing after sitting Game 1 due to suspension — to equalize with just five seconds left in the frame.

That set the stage for a crazy third period in which Shaw looked to have scored the game winner, only for Artemi Panarin‘s empty-netter to stand as the GWG when Kevin Shattenkirk scored a meaningless goal with two seconds left.

Both goalies were good in this one. Crawford stopped 29 of 31 shots for a .935 save percentage, Elliott 26 of 28 for a .929.

Looking ahead, it’s going to be really interesting to see how St. Louis — a that doesn’t exactly have a reputation for mental fortitude in the playoffs — will respond to this turn of events. It’ll also be curious to see how momentum shifts now that the series is going back to Chicago and the United Center, one of the loudest arenas in the NHL.

The last time Florida won a playoff game, Jose Theodore was in net and Kris Versteeg scored the game-winning goal.

So yeah, this one was a long time coming.

Florida defeated the Islanders 3-1 in Game 2 of their opening-round series on Friday night, the first time the Panthers have won a postseason tilt since beating New Jersey in the opening round four years ago.

The veteran goalie won his first-ever playoff game for the Cats — the franchise that drafted him, then re-acquired him three years ago — with an outstanding effort, stopping 41 of 42 shots faced. It was a great bounce-back from Bobby Lu who, in Game 1, faced some criticism after surrendering five goals on just 26 shots.

Not surprisingly, Luongo was named the first star on Friday.

Smith, meanwhile, continued his terrific play with another two-point effort, scoring Florida’s first goal and setting up Nick Bjugstad‘s game-winner. The 25-year-old now has five points through two games, continuing on from the fine regular season form that saw him score a career-high 25 goals and 50 points.

For the Islanders, John Tavares continued his great play to start this series by scoring his team’s only goal. That puts Tavares on four points through the first two games.

From Florida’s perspective, tonight’s game was a virtual must-win after dropping Game 1 at home — so, as far as the Cats are concerned, mission accomplished. That should provide some good momentum heading into Brooklyn for Game 3.

For the Islanders — well, it’s a bit more tricky. They got what they wanted in the opener, achieving the split in Sunrise. But given how badly they out-shot the Panthers tonight, they’re probably leaving Florida wondering if they could’ve gotten more — like, say, a 2-0 series lead.